Sunday, August 30, 2009

Total: 3h 25m Ughh....this is totally depressing. Although, during the week I purposely didn't do as much.

Nutrition Challenge: Here is a quick recap...3 points per day, 1 point for eating 3 veggies, 1 point for eating 3 fruits, and 1 point for not overeating or splurging (I've been calling this the self-control point.) My goal was 18 points this week out of 21 possible.

Total Points: 17

So close, but I totally ruined it today! I actually should give myself negative points for self-control. Man, weekends are hard, aren't they? All of my lost points this week were self-control points. One thing I did notice was with all of the fruits and veggies, I didn't have much room for other foods, unless I was overeating.

I was pretty pleased with my nutrition focus this week, although there is obviously still room for improvement. I'm upping the ante for this week's challenge.

1. The point system will be as follows: 1 point for 4 veggies (instead of 3), 1 point for 3 fruits, 1 point for self-control.2. On Tuesday I am starting the Fall 12-week No Sugar Challenge on BT. I did the spring one, and it was incredibly difficult and eye-opening. I'm hoping my second go at it will be a little easier.

I still haven't decided what to do for Skinnyman. I am leaning strongly towards racing, but walking the 5K. My foot feels great, and I don't think walking will adversely affect it, but I do think I might actually don my running shoes this week and take a walk around the block or something just to be sure.

I really miss running. I miss the alone time. I miss the early morning quiet. I miss how I feel when I am done. I miss how hard I sleep after a good run. Two weeks down, four to go...

Friday, August 28, 2009

I just realized that the title of this post is very commanding. Let me rephrase...please help me decide, if you would be so kind.

I am registered for the Skinnyman sprint tri on 9/5/09. I love this race, and this year will be particularly exciting since Kel is racing too. My doctor as advised me not to run, but said the decision to race this race is really up to me. Here are my thoughts:

1. I'm pretty sure I don't want to run because my foot has been feeling great, and if it starts hurting after the race, then that is 3.5 weeks of no running down the drain.

2. I think it would be hard to just go watch.

3. I think it would be very hard to just do the swim and bike and then turn my chip in.

4. I think it would be hard to walk the entire run, but at least I could cheer everyone on. If I did walk, I would probably be close to last in my AG, but that would be good incentive to bike and swim superfast. Also a bit worried about people thinking I'm a slacker. i.e. will the announcer try to get me to run through the finish chute??? You know how they are. That might be a bit embarassing.

5. This would be the only race this season that I have raced before, and it would be nice to be able to compare to last year.

Anyway, feel free to comment, and then pick your answer in the poll to the left!!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

This morning in my inbox was a message from G., the teenage brother of one of my flute students. He sent me a link to this Team Hoyt video, with the subject"you could relate to this one," and then a quick message, "I couldn't help but think of you when I saw this-what an amazing video." He and I talk triathlon every now and then.

I have seen several of these Team Hoyt videos, and they never fail to stir up amazing emotions in me. I find them very inspiring and moving. The last time I watched one I was sobbing by the end, so I almost didn't watch the link that G. sent me. But after a minute, I decided what's one more time? Little did I know that this video would speak to my very soul about something I have really been struggling with of late.

In June, my oldest son, Ryan, was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. (From Wikipedia: Asperger Syndrome is one of the autism spectrum disorders which are a spectrum of psychological conditions that are characterized by abnormalities of social interaction and communication that pervade the individual's functioning, and by restrictive and repetitive interests and behavior.) He has never been an easy child, and even before he started school Kel and I were concerned about how he would adjust, since he didn't seem to show very much interest in interacting with other kids. About a week after kindergarten began, we began receiving phone calls from his teacher echoing our concern. After much testing and waiting, he received a diagnosis in June that put him just within the range doctors consider Aspergers.

Let me tell you about Ryan. He is incredibly smart and creative. If you ask him what his favorite thing to do is, he will tell you, "Making things out of garbage." And, trust me, he does this very well. I actually prefer to say recycling instead of garbage, but whatever makes the kid happy. (He actually asked me today if he could have garbage for Christmas--I swear to you I am not making this up!) He makes boats and cars and robots. He has made a very cool fort for his room that has a television and a computer inside--all made of recyling, of course. He even plays with this stuff. Today he was playing with a car he built, and decided that it needed a remote control. He taped a bunch of paint brushes end to end, and then taped those to a little box, and was able to push the car around outside without having to bend over. I'm telling you the kid is a genius!

A few of Ryan's "creations," including a life size Wall-E that can actually move by remote control (in the middle), and his fort on the right.

Ryan is extremely affectionate, and most adults will tell you he is an absolute joy one-on-one. He is very funny, and, man, can you have an interesting conversation with this kid. I think he could talk about natural disasters for hours. However, when you put my very sensitive child in a room with other children, watch out. He starts acting out, getting loud and "crazy" we call it. If he doesn't get his way, he can have a total melt down that takes sometimes 30 minutes or more to work through--this sometimes happens even if other kids aren't around. He does not listen, and it is very hard to reason with him once he gets worked up.

Case in point: Yesterday I walked over to the babysitter's house to pick up the boys. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I thought they would enjoy the 10 minute walk home as we have in the past. Well, when I got to the sitter's, Ryan told me he wanted me to go home and get the car because he didn't want to walk home. Of course, I said no. He proceeded to yell at me, at the top of his lungs, sobbing all the while, for the next 20 minutes which included our walk home with a little cool-down break at a bench where no cooling down happened. I was mortified. At one point, Noah started crying, so I picked him up. I was carrying Noah plus two backpacks, with Ryan screaming at me from behind to slow down, when a woman riding a bike passed me and asked me if I was okay. I decided I just wasn't going to lose my cool, but it was hard. We finally got home, and I sent Ryan to his room to calm down. After about 10 minutes he was fine and apologized to me, but, really, this is not normal behavior for a typical six-year-old.

Anyway, I've been feeling very low and unsure about what to do about Ryan. We are still just in the beginning stages of understanding Aspergers and still trying to work things out at home. Before now, I haven't really even told very many people, because I am still trying to process everything. Then I watch this video this morning, and it just hits me. Here is this selfless father loving his grown son, who cannot even walk, without condition...just like Christ loves us. When he picks his son up and puts him onto the bike, I realized that my job is to carry my son through this hard time. Ryan is who he is regardless of a label, but it is my job to help him be victorious, because he does not know how just yet. It is my responsibility to lift him up, to advocate for him, to spend time figuring out what he needs, and to love him unconditionally. And at the end, a reminder:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.Philippians 4:13

Sunday, August 23, 2009

My foot feels fantastic. Per the advice of the coaches on BT, I have decided to take an easy 2-3 weeks of no planned training. That doesn't mean I am not doing anything, but I am just doing what I want to with no particular focus or plan.

The result is...weight gain. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that I ate whatever I wanted this week. So in an effort to avoid gaining any more lbs and keeping some sort of nutritional focus, I have come up with my own nutritional challenge. I think there is something about my personality that makes me respond much better to goals and challenges, rather than just float along happily doing what I know I should be doing. One day, I'm sure I will get to the bottom of this strange idiosyncracy, but in the meantime, I will cater to myself in a way that I know I will respond.

Here is my challenge (feel free to challenge yourself as well!):

Week 1 - August 24-August 30.

Points available: 3 per day (I'm thinking the point values might change as I get deeper into the challenge.)

1 point for eating 3 servings of veggies.1 point for eating 3 servings of fruit.1 point for not overeating or splurging.

Point goal for week 1: 18 points.

I think I will keep track of my daily points on my training log, and then report the weekly points here in my Sunday report.

What this really comes down to for me is accountability, and I need to start holding myself accountable rather than needing someone else to do it for me. Maybe one day I will not need nutritional "rules", but that day has not yet arrived.

I'm interested in what you do to keep yourself on the straight and narrow nutritional track. Please let me know!!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Here is a video of Team Trakkers at the 2009 Ironman Lake Placid. If I ever do an Ironman, it will most likely be Lake Placid, since it is pretty close to me, and a lot of triathletes from Syracuse head up every year. Making a decision on an Ironman is still a couple years in the future for me, since I will not commit to an full ironman distance until Noah is in school. BUT, seeing this video sure does get my blood pumping...

I also love this video because it really shows what a family-centered company Trakkers is. I am proud to be a member of Team Trakkers!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I'm starting a new set of posts called Trimommy Faves. I will be highlighting clothing, equipment, tri accessories (and anything else that comes to mind) that I love and think you might like too.

Today my Trimommy Fave is WHOOHA GEAR. WHOOHA stands for Women Having Optimistic Objectives & Heathy Attitudes, and their motto is Play Hard - Take Chances - Keep Smilin'. (I know...how can you not love them already!) I came across Whooha Gear at the Irongirl expo, and was fortunate enough to meet the president of the company, Julie, who, is a very nice woman, and, as it turns out, a phenomonal triathlete who totally kicked my butt with quite a bit of grace during the race!! (She told me she had to work hard to keep up with my on the bike leg, but I'm pretty sure she was just being nice!) I loved their line of clothing for active women immediately. It is cute, it is funny, it is inspirational, and it is much needed.

Julie was kind enough to send me a shirt to test for all of you. Here is what I chose:

Here is a close-up of what the shirt says. I love it. (In fact, the first time I read it, I got kind of teary....I know...overly-emotional...but hey, love me or leave me.)

The shirt is dri-balance material. Here is what their website says about dri-balance: Dri-Balance optimizes the transport of moisture from skin to the surface of the garment, 6-10 times faster than other wicking garments. The material is very soft and cottony, so I wasn't so sure about the wicking properties, but I taught a spin class in it, and felt great and definitely not dripping after an hour. I then took it off to run, and by the time I was done, it was almost completely dry. I washed and dried it with no shrinkage, and then wore it to yoga and also to bed with extreme comfort in both.

The fit is a women's cut (finally!!! a tri shirt that fits me, not my husband!), and I sized up to medium at the suggestion of the website. It fits great...not loose enough that it shows my stomach in downward dog, but not so tight that it creeps up when I put my hands over my head.

Whooha Gear has quite a selection of shirts for triathlon, running, swimming, cycling and rock climbing. One of my favorite little sayings is, "Not running for seven days makes one weak." They have tanks, t-shirts and sweatshirts. A friend of mine bought a sweatshirt at the Irongirl expo, and she said it is super soft inside and out and the sleeves are nice and long. (She is almost 6 feet, so this is kind of an ongoing issue for her.)

I encourage all of you to stop over at their website, http://www.whoohagear.com/, and while you are there you can get 10% off your order using this code: 10WHOOHA09 This code is valid through December 31, 2009, so I will put it in my new sidebar column, Trimommy Faves.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I went to the orthopedic doctor yesterday. He was extraordinarily nice. He asked me about my racing season, past and future, and we discovered we are both registered for Skinnyman in September. After getting a very thorough history, he started examining my foot. He would press on a spot and ask me if there was any pain. At first I just said no. I mean, it was a little uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt. Then he started really manipulating my foot with a lot of force. And, yes, it hurt. And I told him.

After a little bit, he said he wanted to get an X-ray and a bone scan, but that he was almost positive it is an overuse stress injury in the metatarsal region of my foot. It could possibly be a stress fracture, but if it's not it is headed in that direction if I don't lay off running.

He told me the marathon is definitely out. I asked him about Skinnyman, which is a sprint tri during Labor Day weekend. He said, basically, it is up to me. What he wants from me is 6 pain-free weeks. He said that could start as soon as I was feeling no pain. If that is today, my six weeks starts today. If I race Skinnyman in 3 weeks, and my foot is sore afterward, then my six weeks begins once my foot is pain-free again. He also said something very wise to me. He said, "Don't sacrifice next season for the end of this season." He said that if it were him, he would say, "I had a great season. I completed my first half-ironman and I had a great sprint at Irongirl...now it's time to rest and get ready for 2010."

I was surprisingly calm and collected about the news. After my not-so-hot run in NYC on Saturday, I think I was kind of prepared for him to say no running for a time. The hard thing is, now I'm not sure what to do. He said I can still bike and swim as long as it doesn't hurt, but I think if I'm not going to be racing, I might like to change my focus for a few weeks.

I still haven't decided about Skinnyman. I'm already registered, and Kel is racing too, and my in-laws are taking the boys for the night. I think I'm going to wait a couple of days before I decide.

Another interesting thing that came up at the appointment, is that the dr. wants me to do a full osteoporosis evaluation. I was surprised by this, since I am only 35. He said given that I am a fair skinned, blue eyed, female athlete, it is most likely that I have a vitamin D deficiency, especially since I use sunscreen religiously. He said there is a lot of new research on vitamin D and that it might be even more important for health and bone posterity than calcium! I'll definitely keep you posted on this, since, chances are if I'm not getting enough vitamin D, you aren't either!!

Sidenote: This appointment was light years away from the experience I had with the stupidest and most unprofessional medical provider known to the history of modern female athletes. I have learned my lesson, and from now on I will know who I am seeing before I go.

Monday, August 17, 2009

As most of you know (I think you know, anyway), I am a professional flutist, and this past weekend was the annual National Flute Association Convention. This year it was in New York City, so since I live in New York, I had to go.

What is the NFA Convention, you might ask? Well, just imagine 2,000 flutists, young and old, professional and amateur, famous and not-so-famous, converging on one hotel for the period of 4 days to listen to concerts, participate in clinics, attend workshops, try out flutes of all sizes, and generally pay homage to the flute greats of the world who are in attendance. It is crazy, it is exhausting, it is quite funny, and it is totally inspiring.

I won't bore you with all of the flutey details, but I will say that my travel partner and I helped James Galway up to his room, purely by chance. We heard some amazing flute playing including a performance of a flute concerto that featured the contrabass and contralto flute and a recital by Ian Clarke, one of my favorite flutist-composers. We talked flute until we fell asleep, and then we dreamed dreams of flute.

Being me, however, I couldn't pass up any athletic opportunities in the name of flute playing. In addition to presenting my workshop Finding Your Flow: Yoga for Flutists, I was able to attend another yoga workshop and also attend (outside of the convention) a heated yoga flow class at Prana Power Yoga. This was my first hot yoga class, and, wow, what a workout!! I totally loved, but about halfway through the class the thought past through my very sweaty mind and body, that this might not have been the best decision the day before a planned 15 mile run!

Like I said, I had planned a 15 mile run for early Saturday morning. My initial plan had been to run to the Brooklyn Bridge, over and back to my hotel, but I was a little concerned about getting lost, so instead I opted to run to Central Park, do a loop and then back via the West Side Path, a multi-use path that runs almost the entire length of the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson. While I was in Central Park there was a bike race going on, which was amazing. I think it was come kind of criterium, because the big group with maybe 40 cyclists passed me about 4 or 5 times. I could not believe how fast they were going. I started to feel the effects of my heated flow yoga and the intense NYC humidity early on. At about 9 miles I decided to head back and called it done around 12. My foot was hurting and there was a Jamba Juice across from the hotel that was calling my name. (Man, I wish we had those in Syracuse!) I have to admit, I never thought I would hear myself saying, "Well, I only ran 12 miles today."

We took the early train home on Sunday, and I am still completely exhausted. I went to the doctor today about my foot, and for the sake of the post, I will leave that until tomorrow.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

I was in NYC for the National Flute Convention Thursday through Sunday, so that explains all of the yoga (including an awesome heated yoga flow class). The full convention report will be coming, but I am exhausted. Foot problems are still ongoing, but I have an appointment tomorrow the the ortho. doc, so that should be interesting.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

I'm still a bit behind on my marathon training long runs. I was supposed to do 13 miles today, but kept it to 12 since I didn't run at all last week. Next week, if all is feeling okay, I will try to do 15. If my training keeps on track, I might be headed toward my first 100+ miles of running month!!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Leading up to my half-ironman, I was very true to my training plan, which meant if someone didn't want to do the same workout with me, I was by myself.

Since my focus is switching more towards running, my swim and bike training have eased up a little, and today I was able to go out for a beautiful ride with seven other women. It was a great ride, and despite the fact that we all had different levels of experience, we all had a great time and got in a great workout.

A few girls met at my house, and we headed over to Skaneateles to ride the Skinnyman sprint course. Skaneateles is a beautiful little village at the northern tip of Skaneateles Lake, one of the glacial Finger Lakes. I especially love Skaneateles because Kel and I got married there. Everyone who went had just done Irongirl, with the exception of one woman who is looking forward to Skinnyman as her first triathlon. Since the Irongirl course was relatively flat and Skinnyman is, well, not, I thought it would be a good idea to lead a ride on the course, since I have ridden it quite a few times.

We were off by 7:15, and we had a lovely ride up and down the hills of the Skinnyman. A few of us even did some of the hills twice, which can never hurt (at least it doesn't hurt the training...there were a couple that hurt while I was riding up them!). We managed to stay pretty much together, and it was definitely nice to ride the course again. I absolutely loved being able to just ride. I should really do that more often, because it reminds me of how much I love being on my bike.

I might try to get out there once more before the race to see how fast I can ride it. I'm looking forward to racing this race on Buttercup. It will be the first race this season that I have done before, which is always nice for comparision purposes.

Here are a couple of photos...I didn't take them because I have not reached the level of blogger that remembers her camera for every event...thanks for your patience!!

Kel and I are leaning towards Rev3Tri Quassy. He would do the olympic, and I would do the half. We had a great time there this past June. One of the nicest things about the race, besides the great organization and amazing schwag, was the fact that we were able to take the boys. They enjoyed the amusement park (free admission for all family members was included in the registration), and were able to see some of the race (they could have seen all of it, but, alas, the attention span of my children is not as far reaching as I would hope) on a huge screen with live commentary from the course. Trakkers was also there with real-time tracking of athletes.

Registration is open for Quassy and Knoxville, and Cedar Point will open September 1!!! Register on-line at http://www.rev3tri.com/. You do not want to miss these races.

My foot has still been bothering me. I went out for a run for the first time in over a week on Tuesday, and sure enough, it started hurting again. So, I bit the bullet and made an appointment at my regular doctor's office with the nurse practitioner.

The only problem was the appointment was for 8 pm, and if I needed an x-ray I was going to have to go back another time. So, following the advice of my husband, I decided to call over to North Medical Center, a doc-in-the-box, move-em-in-move-em-out, kind of a place that I used to go to about 5 years ago. (I should say that the reason I quit going there was because I really felt the care was impersonal and at times sub-standard--something I should have kept in mind.) They have x-ray facilities right there that are open, so I figured it would save time and having the boys along, to do it all on Tuesday evening, if I, in fact, needed an x-ray. They were able to get me in right away, so off I went.

My appointment ended up being with a physician's assistant, which I have no problem with. The nurse called me in and took my history, blah, blah, blah... Then the PA came in, and I gave the story to him as well. He takes like a 5 second look at my foot, hardly feeling it at all. He quickly determines that I need a bone scan to rule out a stress fracture (they don't show up on regular x-rays...who knew?), but that it is most likely plantar fasciitis. (Neither are great, but I will take the PF over the stress fracture, because at least it wouldn't bench me for the rest of the season.)

After his super-quick semi-diagnosis, he then proceeded to lecture me for the next 10 minutes on how I'm "running my body into the ground," and how "unhealthy" it is to run this many miles. He also said "I don't mean to sound sexist, but a woman's body is just not made for this kind of abuse." He did all of this with a smug smile and a knowing nod of the head. It was almost like he was telling me to quit smoking, instead of telling me to quit doing quite possibly, the most healthy thing I could be doing for myself.

I was furious, but I really have difficulties a) stating what I think in my head to a doctor or anyone that should traditionally be respected, and b) coming up with anything smart enough to express how I really feel when I am so mad. After listening and not saying anything (there was no way I was going to agree with him), I finally said, "Well, I guess you are entitled to your own opinion." Lame, I know, but I just couldn't come up with anything!! He just gave a little chuckle and shook his head like I was the stupidest girl he has ever seen. At one point he also said to me, "Don't get me wrong, you look great...it's just not good for you!"

REALLY????

I finally said, "So are you going to schedule that bone scan, or do I need to do that?", and basically the appointment was done. I kind of wish I had a re-do, so I could tell him in my most dignified way how utterly offended I was by his sexist "treatment", if you can even call it that.

I think my anger is finally spent from the incident. I have since found an orthopedic doctor who specializes in treating injuries of recreational athletes. He has completed multiple Ironman races, and I have a feeling he is not going to tell me my body wasn't made to do this kind of training.

Anyway, I invite everyone to give me your very best come-back for the most awful medical provider ever known to the history of athletic women.